Cuna Arasuapii: Time When Coyotes Howl
by Majs007
Summary: Kagome moved with her family across the country by choice, but regrets it. She meets Coyote, the trickster, and he sends her to the past for a destiny not yet filled. In a land hundreds of years in the past, she will find true friendship and love.
1. Coyotes Dawn

**Chapter 1 – Coyotes Dawn**

Kagome Higurashi struggled up the stairs with the last box for her room. Sweating from the sweltering heat, there didn't seem to be any reprieve from the air conditioning inside the house. Unpeeling the soaked shirt from her skin, Kagome set down the box and collapsed on the mattress that was lying on the floor. Absentmindedly thinking that she still needed to put her bed together, she toyed with the idea of trying to con Souta to do it for her.

Lifting herself on her elbows, she surveyed her new room, trying to ignore the hot Nevada sun streaming through the windows in the center of the room. The new room was larger than her old room, and the closet seemed large enough that she can partially walk in. The hardwood floor was different than the carpeted floor she was used to in New York, but then again, the weather contrast would make carpeted floors a bane in this area. Getting up from the mattress, Kagome walked over to the window. Outside she saw a few other cookie cutter houses like hers, and beyond that was the vast Mojave Desert with mountains at a distance.

Kagome sighed to herself as she slowly accepted her new life, despite the heat and distaste for the rural life, mostly because it had been her choice to move with her family. Her mother had gotten relocated across the country, and she was given a choice to stay and finish her final year at her high school, or to relocate with her mother and brother. Knowing that Souta, as annoying of a little brother he may be, might be as lonely in the south west, as she would be in the north east, she chose to be there for him and they can do the move together. Still, Kagome thought to herself as she brushed her bangs away from her eyes, the view really is pretty… maybe in time she could accept it and enjoy it.

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Kagome gasped as she woke up. Struggling to get her breathing back to normal, her hands went to her heart to try to steady the beating. As soon as her mind started to clear, she reached for the lamp next to her. Her body was shaking slightly as she got out of her bed and walked over to the window. As she leaned her forehead on the glass, she struggled to try to remember what her dream was about, but to no avail. This dream, as every single dream in the past week, avoided her.

Sighing, Kagome pushed herself away from the window and started heading downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water. Her throat was parched and she felt like a dry parchment. When she finally sat down at the kitchen table drinking her water, she thought about her past few weeks at her new home. The school year had already started prior to her attendance, but there wasn't an issue since she was ahead of the rest of the class in regards to school work. While everyone was polite to her, her classmates already had their own little groups, which she knew she would be unwelcome if she forced herself into the groups. It was best to wait until she was more accepted, but until then she was probably going to be the outsider. So far there was one guy at the new school that seemed to try to deliberately get her attention by asking about her well being, or trying to find various ways to talk to her. Perhaps, once everything gets settled, she should think about dating him. It wouldn't hurt to start experiencing some happiness sometime.

Outside at a distance from her home, there were a few howls. 'Coyotes', Kagome thought to herself. Getting up from the table, she walked over to the sink and looked out the window that was right over it. Looking up, Kagome noticed that there wasn't any moon that night. 'I wonder what they can be howling about.'

After leaving the kitchen to go back to her room, she grew annoyed with herself. 'I'm not even tired' she thought, 'what am I supposed to do for the next few hours until dawn?' Sighing, she lay down on her bed and tried to force herself to go back to sleep, despite the continuous howling outside, that seemed to be drawing closer.

Should at that very moment Kagome looked out her own bedroom window, she would find out that she wasn't the only one awake that night.

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About an hour before dawn Kagome woke again, this time from a dreamless sleep. Feeling slightly more rested than before, she looked at groaned when she looked at her clock. Figuring that there wasn't any way that she will be getting more sleep that night, she got up to wash up and get dressed. Since it was a weekend, there wasn't any rush to get ready, just the frustration that she didn't sleep in on a day that she could sleep in.

The house seemed a little quiet as she was moving around, but she was careful not to make so too much noise to wake anyone. Biting into a piece of toast and sipping tea from her thermos, she walked out onto the porch and watched the dark night sky slowly turn to a dark gray. 'The sun should be coming up soon.' She mused. Getting up from her spot on the porch, she started to take a short walk around her neighborhood. The desert air was a little chilly, but her sweatshirt was warm, and the tea warmed her up.

Walking past all the houses that looked so much alike, with all the sleeping inhabitants inside, she felt a deeper loneliness. Other than her own family, she felt like such an outsider here. She missed her friends and even her extended family, as crazy as they seemed. A part of her was wondering whether she regrets the decision that she made to move here.

A yelp in front of her brought her back from her thinking. Freezing in place, she noticed about ten feet in front of her was a coyote. It was staring right back at her, not moving from its spot. Kagome took a small step back, she heart racing in her throat. She wasn't she if the coyote wanted to attack her, whether it can smell her fear, or whether it was curious. She froze again when she noticed the coyote take a step forward for every step she took back. Kagome stood in place and briefly looked around the area. She must have walked a little further out from the houses into the desert. She desperately wanted to look back to see how far she was from town, but she was took nervous to turn away from the coyote.

Suddenly, somewhere to her right, howling took her attention away from the coyote. When she realized that the howling was far away to concern her, she quickly turned her head to look back at the coyote, but it was gone. Glancing around quickly, Kagome realized it was nowhere in sight. When she thought it was safe, she finally allowed herself to relax and turned to walk back into the town. The sky was starting to become a lighter shade of gray, meaning the daylight was approaching soon, and she wanted to be home before her mom and Souta wake up.

Before she took a step back, she nearly screamed when a voice called out right behind her.

"Yo."

Turning around quickly, she noticed a boy snickering to himself with a twinkle in his eye.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that." He spoke.

Kagome's heart was still racing and she struggled to keep her temper in check. "You didn't mean to scare me?!" Kagome exclaimed. "How could you not?! You just appeared out of nowhere and you expect me to relax?!"

The boy rose his hands up in front of him. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." His sandy brown hair went in front of his eyes and he brushed them away. Kagome noticed he was shorter than her, possible a few years younger, maybe even Souta's age. His hair seemed a little long, but that seemed like a common thing around the area. His eyes were a little darker than his own hair color, and the way he was dressed…

'He looks like some punk kid' Kagome though as she took in his baggy jeans and tee-shirt with pictures of laughing skulls all over. He had a gold earring in one ear, and his sneakers looked like they were a few days past retiring.

"Is there a reason why you are so far from town? What is your name?" Kagome asked cautiously.

"Well, I noticed you were in fact walking out from the town not paying attention to where you are going. I wasn't going to let you walk into the desert alone and get lost, you know. You should be thanking me instead."

Kagome seethed, but at the same time was turning red from embarrassment. 'He is right,' she thought, 'I can't be mad at him for making sure I was okay… but he doesn't have to be so arrogant about it'. Inwardly sighing, Kagome looked the weird boy and sheepishly smiled. "I guess I do have to thank you…You probably scared away the coyote, didn't you?"

The boy shrugged slightly, "I guess so… you are the new girl, right? From the north east?"

'Gee, news travels fast around here.' Kagome though. Regardless, she stuck out her hand. "My name is Kagome. And you are…?"

"My friends called me Coyote. It's really up to you if you want to call me that too..."

"Right...okay, Coyote?" Kagome started to feel uncomfortable around him and started to take a step back towards town. "Well... It was nice to meet you. Thanks for stopping me from going further into the desert..."

And with that, she stepped away to go back to town.

"Wait."

And she waited. Kagome involuntarily shivered. There was something creepy and commanding in that tone of voice, something that made her want to get away and not trust what he says, but she couldn't seem to tell her legs to move.

"You feel alone here, huh?" The comment seemed more like a statement, not a question. Coyote walked over closer to her.

"You feel like you don't belong here right now, do you?" With that statement, he was by her side.

Starting to feel agitated, Kagome turned her head to look at him. "Now what would you know..."

"You are having disturbing dreams every night." He interrupted.

"What..." But Coyote didn't let her finish her thought.

"If your friends were in trouble, would you help them? If they were going to die, but there is something you can do to help, would you?"

Kagome stammered "What do my friends have anything to do..."

"Would you go?"

"What?"

"Are you willing to help your friends?"

Coyote was now only a few inches from her face, staring directly into her eyes. His gaze was fiercely intense and Kagome finally had the strength to take a step back from him.

"How dare you think I would abandon them?! I don't know where this conversation is coming from, but I would not abandon my friends if they need me!" Kagome felt anger in her statement, and an unshakable fear that she was about to seal her fate.

"Then would you go to them?"

There was a sudden tension in the air and the desert was silent. It was as if fate herself was holding her breath for the answer.

"Yes." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Coyote shoulders seem to relax from an invisible tension, as though he was relieved for an answer the was unknown to him. Then, with a wide smile, he winked at Kagome and time seemed to stand still.

"Then I wish you good luck, Kagome," he said as the world seemed to be unstable under Kagome's feet. She fell to her knees and braced herself for the incredible wave of dizziness that seemed to overwhelm her. She forced herself to look up to Coyote in confusion, and struggled to understand why there was two of him: Coyote the boy and Coyote the animal. Both Coyotes seem to speak at the same time.

"And Kagome...please don't die this time."

Before the darkness overcame her, she saw the sun rise from the corner of her eyes and mournful howling in the background signifying that the day was just beginning.


	2. The Beasts of the Desert

**Chapter 2 – The Beasts of the Desert**

It was hot.

It was hot and it was only getting hotter.

In fact, it was getting so hot; Kagome was wondering whether the central air in the house was broken. It also seemed so bright with her eyes closed, so the shades must have been open in the room as well. And it didn't help to that there was a large rock in her bed that seemed to be poking her back in a most uncomfortable way. In fact, she was starting to wonder why her bed was warm and rocky in the first place…

Kagome gasped and sat up straight right away. That seemed to be a big mistake on her part. Before she could take in her surroundings fully, a harsh wave of dizziness and nausea overwhelmed her, and she threw up all her breakfast of tea and toast, and anything else that seemed to be in her stomach at the time. Steadying herself with her hands, tears coming out of her shut eyes as she tried to control her breathing and stomach. When the sensation passed, she risked opening her eyes and taking in her surroundings.

All around her was desert. After the shock of the moment started to pass, her first rational thought was maybe she passed out at the edge of town. Looking around, she tried to see any sign of civilization, since she couldn't have gotten far. Absentmindedly she noticed that her thermos of spilt tea was lying on the ground near her. Slowly getting up and picking up the thermos, she started walking in the direction where she thought her home was supposed to be. Walking in a daze, she noticed a hill that seemed to lead to the top of a cliff. Perhaps if she climbed to the top, she could see the town somewhere. 'Or,' she thought dismally, 'Maybe some shade at least, so I don't die right way…'

It was getting uncomfortably hot, when Kagome noticed she was still wearing her sweatshirt from the morning. Taking it off, and tying it around her waist, she was secretly glad she decided to have a light tee-shirt underneath. Even with no one around, she would have been too uncomfortable walking around with a bra, or even worse, nothing at all. Bracing herself for a climb to get a better view, she wished she had water in the morning, rather than the tea. But then, she grimaced, it was like she had nothing at all since everything she did have was gone out of her stomach.

By the time Kagome reached the top of the hill, brushing the dirt on her hands onto her jeans, she walked over to the edge. As she got closer to the edge, the hairs on the back of her neck started tingling and she felt a nervous deep pit in her stomach. When she walked over to the edge, all the hairs on arms were standing and she suddenly forgot how to breathe.

In the far distance, she saw an enormous beast. A white dog, so large that it could have even been the size of the large hill she was standing on. But even as far as it was, she didn't just see it, but seemed to feel it as well. Its power felt as though he had to do was turn around and look at her in order to destroy her. Kagome took a deep shaky breath as she took a timid step back. It was at that moment that the beast sudden turned and stared her in the eye.

Fighting the impending scream that was threatening to erupt from her throat, she turned around and ran as fast as she could to the bottom of the hill. Heart pounding, her eyes seemed to find a small crack on the hill side, shaded from the sun and large enough that she could hide in. Body moving on her own, she maneuvered herself into the crack and sat there, shaking uncontrollable and waiting for her impending doom.

The impending doom that didn't seem to come for her.

Her ears were straining to hear the supposed loud stomping that she expected to hear from a beast that size charging after her. When she realized the only loud thing in the area was her heart pounding in her ears, she slowly crawled out from the small cave. Glancing back up the hill that she was so much of a rush to get down from, she resolved that there was no way that she was going to climb back up that day. Besides, she was pretty sure that from the corner of her eye, even though she was mostly focused on the beast, she really didn't see any towns, nor did she think that a huge dog beast like that would be walking around any towns anyway. Sighing, she walked the opposite direction in hopes to maybe find some water somewhere. Absentmindedly, she noticed she lost her thermos somewhere during the run to hide, but really wasn't in the mood to search for it. The most pressing matter was water, shade and people, if she was lucky, since one of those might lead to the other.

Following the bottom edge of the cliffs, Kagome thought more of her situation. She couldn't seem to remember how she got in the middle of the desert in the first place. She remembered getting up, having a small breakfast, but as soon as she walked out the door onto her porch… Kagome knew something significant happened, but what exactly happened seemed to escape her.

After walking for about half an hour, sweat pouring from seemingly every part of her body, a small sad mewling sound coming from the large boulder ahead of her took her from her thoughts. Ignoring her basic survival instinct of ignoring everything and focusing only on herself, she followed the sound, telling herself that she needed to pass the boulder anyway for her to go on the same path she was on now. And from the sight that greeted her, she brought her hands to her mouth and forced herself not to yell.

From behind the boulder in front of her, was the body of a large fox, a fox that must have been twice her size. And it wasn't the body that frightened her so much, but the fact that it was completely skinned. Absolutely terrified, and everything overwhelming her a once, first waking up in the middle of the desert, seeing the large dog beast, incredibly sized fox beast that was twice her size skinned dead, Kagome was at her wits end and was about to run away from everything, when the small mewling sound took her attention once more. The hairs on her arms were standing again, and she couldn't seem to move away, not after she noticed the source of the sound. Near the head of the skinned fox was a smaller baby fox, seemly crying in despair, his head trying to find comfort in the crook of the naked neck of the body.

Kagome's heart seemed to pull for the baby fox. Not only for the fact that it seemed like it was mourning, and still trying to find comfort in the dead body of its parent, she knew that whatever killed the larger fox might come back and kill the baby. That wasn't something she wanted to have on her conscious, even if her own situation didn't seem any safer than the fox kit. Stepping forward, it was only then that the kit noticed her. Startled, he jumped back and started growling at Kagome. Undeterred, she took another step forward and knelt down to face the baby. Trying to ignore the skinned body near her, she found her voice to speak.

"Hey there," She spoke softly. Kagome noticed that her voice seemed a little strange sounding, but dismissed it to a parched throat and lack of water.

"I'm not going to hurt you," She continued. The kit stopped growling but still didn't move, its eyes untrusting of the strange human in front of him.

"I'm sorry with what happened, but it isn't safe to be here." Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. When she opened them, she stared directly into the fox kits eyes. Her skin seemed to tingle slightly again, and somehow she knew that maybe it only alerted her of anything strange around, like the kit in front of her. "Please, we both seem to be in a bad situation. Maybe…" She hesitated for a moment, trying to think if she was saying the right thing. "It's not a good idea to be alone at the moment. It's pretty dangerous. Please… please come with me and I will try to protect you the best I can." And maybe then I'll have the strength to protect the both of us, she thought to herself silently.

Slowly, the small fox kit took a hesitant step forward. Kagome didn't move, and she patiently waited, ignoring the fact that her legs started to hurt from kneeling for so long. After another moment or so, the fox kit crept closer and finally jumped into Kagome's open arms. She held the small kit closely as she felt it start mewling and crying into her shoulder. Slowly moving away from the body of its parent, and trying not to disturb the kit too much, she tried to comfort him as much as she could, but couldn't help her own tears that had started to come out of her eyes, and didn't brush them away while she started to walked away, continuing on the path that she was on.

It wasn't until she was a good distance from the body that the crying seemed to stop and the kit was asleep in Kagome's arms. Taking a moment to assess the situation while she kept going, she again wondered whether she did the right thing. Now she not only had to survive in the desert herself, but she was now responsible for another life to survive as well, since she couldn't abandon him now. Sighing, she noticed a large rock formation ahead that seemed to provide adequate shade. Sitting down in the shade, it was only then that she realized how thirsty and tired from the heat she was. But it was also then in the quiet that she finally heard it…

In the distance was a quiet tinkling sound indicating water. Her back straightened and she struggled to listen closely. The sound seemed to be coming from a little further ahead, where the shade seemed to continue. Carefully standing up so that she didn't wake the fox, she took large steps toward the sound and sighed with relief. Coming from a crack in the wall of the cliff was a small stream of water. The water seemed to continue in a path around the bend of rocks. Continuing the corner, following the small stream, her legs nearly gave out underneath her as she cried out in relief. In front of her was a large pond that seemed to be full from more sources of water from the cliff. In fact, there were trees all around the area of the pond, and the cliffs seemed to provide enough shade in the area that it seem instantly cool compared to the dry desert heat.

'An oasis', Kagome thought in relief, 'An oasis in the middle of the desert'.

Walking over near the edge of the water, she carefully laid out her sweatshirt on the softer, almost grassy ground, and laid the fox kit down. When she was sure he wasn't going to wake from the jostling, she went over to the pond and drank the refreshing water. Sighing in relief, she started to wash the sweat off her, reveling in the cool water and the luck she had in finding such a place. She noticed that there seemed to be some fresh water minnows in the pond and thought that the least she can do was catch them for the kit. Kagome wasn't exactly sure what foxes eat, but she pretty sure that fish might be one of the edible things that can eat that she can at least provide. Taking off her sneakers and rolling up her jeans, she stood in a foot deep of the water. Cupping her hands, she was glad that there seemed to be so many minnows in the water, since that would make it easier to catch them. Patiently waiting for a few of them to come to her palm, she quickly cupped them into her hands and took them out of the water. In her hands she felt the squirming fishy sensation and whooped in delight for catching the small fish so easily. A sound behind her caught her attention quickly, and she noticed that possibly because of her cheering, she ended up waking the fox kit.

Still smiling while silently berating herself for waking him up, Kagome walked out of the water and sat next to the fox kit, who was still lying down on her sweatshirt, staring at her.

"Here!" She announced happily as she presented the minnows to the kit. He eyed her strangely, causing Kagome to blush slightly from embarrassment.

"Its fish," She said.

'Yeah, what way to state the obvious, Kagome.' She thought to herself.

Kagome lower her hands further to present the fish to the fox. "I wasn't sure whether you are hungry, or whether you even like fish," she continued. "But it would be good for you to eat to keep your strength up, and well, just eat… and stuff…" Running out of words, she looked expectantly at the fox kit when it finally, to her relief, took the largest minnow in her hand with its teeth and started eating it.

Sighing, Kagome looked and the remaining minnow in her hand and decided that while she was hungry, she wasn't so hungry where she was about to eat a raw fish. Giving the remaining fish to the fox, she leaned back and stared at the water and scenery around her.

"You know… I am not really from around here." Kagome started. The fox kit looked up at her while she talked, but continued eating.

"In fact," chuckling softly to herself, "I really don't know where here really is. Strange isn't it?"

Kagome stopped to look at the fox that stopped eating for the moment to regard her.

"You know, I don't know what to call you. I can't just call you Fox, or anything like that."

"How about I give you a name? Something that is totally your own and that you'll know it's just yours, even when you are in a crowd of foxes just like you?"

The fox kit continued to look at Kagome while she was thinking. Putting a finger on her chin to think, her eyes widened when she thought of the perfect name.

"How about…" She knelt down closer to the fox, so that her nose was only a foot away from his nose, staring at him warmly in the eye. "Shippo?"

Kagome waited for a reaction from the kit. For moment it looked like nothing was about to happen and she would have to thinking of another name, but then she noticed that he hesitantly walked up to her, and finally came close enough where he was able to lick her nose, just once, in approval.

Smiling widely, she gathered the kit in her arms. "So Shippo it is." She gave her own little kiss on the top of his head and set him back down on her sweatshirt, so that he can continue eating the final minnow.

'Shippo', she thought to herself… 'Why does it seem like that was his name in the first place and that I really didn't come up with it?'

Brushing the thought aside, she lay back on the ground and watched the sky. Finally somewhat content, she didn't feel herself start drifting away…

…Until an urgent mewling by her side brought her out of her daydream. Sitting up suddenly, she noticed that Shippo seemed to be a little distressed about something. Kagome started feeling the hairs on the back of her neck tingle, and a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach, much like when she saw the dog beast in the distance. She felt it again, brushing against her skin, power not as strong as the dog beast, but it powerful enough to get her up quickly and grab Shippo in her arms. It only seem like instinct that moved her legs from the spot she only stood a moment ago, a spot where a large beak snapped at the very air she was breathing a second ago.

Nearly falling after jumping out of the way, her eyes widened at the creature the stood in front of her. It was an enormous vulture, unlike anything she had ever seen, a grotesque looking creature that was much taller than her. The creature startled back when it looked at Kagome, as a scream erupted from her lungs. Before the creature was able to react to the noise, Kagome fled as fast as she could from the bird, holding onto Shippo tightly. She knew she was being followed as she ran along the base of the cliffs in the oasis. All she needed was a hiding spot, and while there wasn't one behind her, she was sure there had to be on ahead of her. In an instant, she felt a slight pulling feeling on her side, and she managed to move out of the way to see from the corner of her eye a large beak snap that very spot she was in only inches away from her. Focusing on trying to get away stopped another scream coming from her, but the sudden movement she made to get away from the hideous bird caused her to lose balance and fall. Falling hard on her side, and not realizing it right away, she managed to fall where the edge a small hill started. It was only when she started rolling and sliding down the hill did try to curl up and protect her head and Shippo the best she could from the rocks on the hill.

When she reached the bottom, Kagome was much worse to wear than before, bleeding from her head and arms, tears in her jeans where some of the sharper rocks cut through to her skin. Shippo seemed better off, still slightly hurt, but Kagome ended up taking the brunt of the fall when she tried protecting him. Groaning and tasting the blood in her mouth when she realized she had cut her lip, she looked up to see the vulture on the top of the hill, getting ready for its final attack.

Knowing that there was no way that she had time to get up and start running, and not with how hurt she was, she held Shippo close to her. Gasping when it jumped off the cliff top towards her, she couldn't seem to close her eyes to the inevitable. If she had closed them or blink, she would have missed the red flash that passed in front of her. She did not definitely miss, witnessing the vulture's head start splitting from its body, the blood spraying everywhere. She tried not to feel the spatters on her cheek and arms, and tried so hard to not focus on the fact that the body that fell right in front of her, the dark and dirty feathers slowly floating down, and the bodied head lying a few feet in front her.

Slowly turning her head away from the vulture, movement catching her eye, was man. Or at least she thought so when she was trying to take his features in from the bottom up. What caught her eyes though were his eyes and hands. Golden eyes seem to glare at her and he started licking the vulture's blood from his claws while not taking his eyes off her. His long silver hair seemed to glow in the sunlight, and on the top of his head; Kagome had to blink a few times to know it wasn't a trick of her eyes; was a pair of white dog ears, one of them twitching slightly.

"Yo."

His talking seemed to get her attention entirely, but she was trying to fight another flash of dizziness threatening to overwhelm her. She could tell just from his presence that he was much stronger compared to the vulture, which that in itself was overwhelming.

"I'm disappointed in you, Kikyo, letting a stupid bird get that close to you." His voice rumbled, as he licked the final drops of blood from his fingers.

It was only then that everything finally did overwhelm her and the darkness took her before she even felt her head hit the ground.

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A/N: This Chapter took a lot longer to get out than I intended, but I'm glad I finally got it out of the way. Yay! We have the Intro of Shippo and Inuyasha already! And who is the scary dog beast?! LOL, I'm just playing with everyone since I know that everyone knows it's our favorite hunk of meat, Sesshoumaru! I honestly didn't think of putting him this early in the story at all, but it was a last minute decision and I think it came out with well. My story idea is changing slightly, but I'm trying to think of it as slowly forming a life of its own. Oh, and reviews would be nice too, but I'm not going to go begging for them (not yet at least!!). Although, please let me know if anyone wants to be a beta, a beta that can give a lot of constructive criticism. Something like that I think would help me out a lot, especially to bug me in getting chapters out faster! Alright! Hopefully I won't take so long for the next chapter! A/N Update again - needed to fix a couple grammer mistakes a caught after I already posted --; 


	3. Unpleasant Introductions

**Chapter 3 – Unpleasant Introductions**

In the darkness where Kagome lay, she started to hear voices… voices that were perhaps a little too loud and somewhat annoying…

"What are you, stupid? Even I would have been scared to death."

"Listen, you little brat, she isn't dead! She just passed out due to my overwhelming power!"

"Overwhelming power? You mean overwhelming ego! Don't you think licking the blood from your fingers was a bit over the edge?"

THOMP

"OOOOOWWWW!!!"

"Shut up, Stupid, I think she is waking up…"

"Sniff…but that hurt…"

Groaning, Kagome tried to shake off darkness. Her head was pounding slightly and the loud arguing didn't seem to help her head any at all. Sitting up, she opened her eyes to realize that she was back in the oasis, sitting under the shade of a tree. Blinking away the last of the darkness that had overwhelmed her before, she looked towards the source of the voices.

The first source of the voice, she noticed, was a child. She noticed him first because he seemed to be right in front of her face, looking at her concerned. There seemed to be a bump on his head and a few tears in his eyes, but what caught her attention was his bright green eyes, red hair and a bushy… tail?

Kagome opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she noticed the other person standing in front of her. It was the man with the silver hair, golden eyes and, yeah, that seemed to be right, dog ears? He was sitting cross-legged in front of her; his arms crossed in front of his chest, staring at her with a frown on his face.

"Yo… You aren't going to pass out like a sissy again, are you?"

The shocked look on Kagome's face quickly was replaced with anger when she realized his concerned statement included an insult directed at her. _'What the hell?!'_ she thought, but her mouth decided to take over.

"Like a sissy?! What the hell am I supposed to do if I was attacked by a giant, stupid bird, and you show up, drinking bloody bird guts from your fingers like nothing?!" Kagome yelled.

"See, Inuyasha, I told you it was the blood thing!"

Kagome turned back to the child that seemed to be glaring at the silver haired man. '_Damn, I have to remember there is a kid around too… I don't want to argue in front of him if I don't have to… where did he come from? He seems familiar…'_

"Hey…kid" She hesitated for a second to wait for the large green eyes to look at her again. _'Why is this kid familiar? I know he wasn't around when I got attacked'._ "What's your name?" She asked.

The child looked surprised when she asked that. "It's me, Shippo… don't you recognize me?" Kagome's eyes widened when he mentioned that. _'Shippo?!' _she thought, and she briefly looked around to make sure that there wasn't a fox fix anywhere around. When her eyes reached the boy's bushy red tail, that's when she realized that he might be telling the truth after all.

"Why the hell would she recognize you? You were a midget fox when you were hanging around her."

"Shut up, Inuyasha, I thought she would since she told me my name! I wouldn't have changed if she got my name wrong in the first place!"

From that statement, the man, Inuyasha scooted over closer to her to study her. Kagome felt he was getting a little too close when his face was about a foot away from her, golden eyes staring at her intently. She repressed a shiver when closed his eyes and start smelling the air around her. _'Is he smelling me?!'_ She though. Blushing, she started to get uncomfortable having a shirtless man sitting so close to her and smell the air around her. Absentmindedly she wondered whether she still stunk, and resisted the urge to smell her armpits. Nothing like making more of point of stinking that there needed to be.

"Umm… Inuyasha was it?" His eyes opened and narrowed slightly when she mentioned his name. "You…Um… you're in my personal space… Can you, you know, back off a little?"

"Personal space?" He questioned.

"See the air in the two feet space around me?" Kagome emphasized her statement by waving her arms around her general area. "You're trespassing in my territory without my permission…" Gritting her teeth, she forced herself not to get too angry.

"Your… terri…tory? Wha…? . . . Well, excuse me!" Inuyasha said sarcastically. "Listen, sissy girl, technically since I saved your sorry ass from being torn to shreds from that 'giant, stupid bird', you are now my 'territory', got it bitch? Those are the rules! I save your life and now it belongs to me and I'm responsible for it!!"

Kagome fumed. _'Territory, am I?!'_ She thought angrily. "Listen, you, my name is Kagome. It's not sissy girl and it's not bitch, but Ka-go-me. Can you get that through your thick, ego inflated skull? And I'm not property! I'm not going to abide by your barbaric stupid rules because I don't belong to anyone!"

It was about this point that Inuyasha struggled to reign in his anger. He didn't want to fight the girl, but she was making him so angry by defying him! "Well now, Ka-go-me, do you think I care? All I know is that you stink like the bitch you are, and if you weren't so beat up, I would have tossed you in the water to wash off your stench! It would have been my full right to do so! If it wasn't for the stupid brat trying to _'defend'_ you, I would have done so anyway!"

"You are such a stupid arrogant asshole!!" Kagome yelled. This guy was getting way beyond her nerves!

A small voice interrupted the tense moment. "Guys! Guys! Please don't argue!"

Kagome looked down to see Shippo tugging at her shoulder. Trying her best to Ignore Inuyasha's glare, and at the same time trying to deflate her anger as much as possible, she looked at Shippo.

"Are you really Shippo, the kit that was with me?" She questioned, still surprised over his transformation from a fox to a small, strange looking boy.

Shippo looked at her confused and slightly crestfallen. "Of course. I thought you knew that I can do that since you knew my name… I… wanted to talk to you easier since I knew you wouldn't have understood me… wouldn't have changed though, if you really didn't know…" Shippo's eyes looked downcast as he started taking his hand away and turn away. Kagome didn't give him a chance since she gathered him into her arms.

"Don't be sad, Shippo. I don't know how I knew your name, I just knew. I don't mind that you changed… you still pretty cute no matter what you look like. And… I think I like to be able to talk to you too…" Kagome spoke softly as she held him close. She felt her anger from Inuyasha start to ebb away as she did so. Holding him did seem to remind her of hold the small kit just a few hours ago.

Turning from his spot in her arms to look at her, Shippo's eyes widened. "Do you really mean it?" Seeing Kagome nod, he gathered his courage to ask his next question, "Then does that mean I can stay with you for a little while…?"

Kagome was surprised, but she nodded despite herself. She couldn't abandon him now, especially when he truly looked like a child to her, and not just as a fox. Not to mention she did feel responsible for him as well.

"What, are you proving the fact that you are stupid?" Inuyasha ignored the daggers coming from Kagome's eyes when he said that.

"If you take the stupid brat with you," He continued. "What are you going to end up doing, huh?" Inuyasha turned to Shippo.

"And you… the only reason Ka-go-me knew your name is because as a Spirit Walker, she probably heard you say it when you were a bushy tailed rat. She basically did understand you, even though she didn't know it." Shippo's eyes widened in realization of Inuyasha's statement. He tentatively smelled the air around Kagome to confirm it.

"A Spirit Walker?" Kagome questioned.

"What are you ignorant as you are weak? You smell like a Spirit Walker, and being one is also the reason the buzzard isn't eating your human flesh right about now."

"Wha? What is that supposed to mean?" Kagome stammered.

"It means that I saw you dodge the bird when it was about to attack you and you weren't looking. It means that you felt the attack coming and you moved out of the way. Only humans that are extra sensitive, like Spirit Walkers can feel something coming before it can happen, especially from corrupt spirits like the buzzard."

Kagome started to feel her anger rising again. "You saw it attack me? If you saw it attacking me, why didn't you do something to help me out earlier?! Did I need to have a near death experience for you to actually help me?!"

"I wanted to see what you would do, since you seemed way too relaxed next to the water. You'd have to be stupid to think you were actually safe." Inuyasha explained casually.

"You were watching me by the water? For how long?!" Mortified, Kagome remembered that she clearly took her shirt off to wash the sweat off of her body. He didn't see her naked, did he?!

Inuyasha took an unconscious step back. He had a distinct feeling that if he said the wrong thing now, his ears might not be able to take the pain of her yelling. Knowing that she needed an answer or else she would assume he was guilty for something he wasn't sure of, he started to explain himself.

"I followed you, alright. I was… arguing… with my brother some distance away when I smelt your stink in the air." Inuyasha reach over behind him to pick up her thermos that was lying on the ground. _'Funny,'_ she thought, _'I didn't notice it there before…'_

"I found this stupid thing and your rotting puke everywhere. I followed your smell past the fox carcass and to the oasis…" Inuyasha paused for a moment when Kagome held her breath. "And I saw you feeding the brat some puny fish." He relaxed when he saw her release the breath she was holding, as well as her shoulders relax from their tense position. _'Saved!'_ he thought to himself, but he didn't know from what. If her defiance and temper were any indication, he wouldn't want to know what her wrath would be for seeing something that he didn't know about, nor wanted to know about. Casually, he tossed Kagome her empty thermos, even though she wasn't so graceful in catching it.

"I knew the buzzard was following you… It was trailing you since you picked him up." Inuyasha pointed over to Shippo. "When I arrived, it was circling overhead preparing to attack, but too far for me to do anything anyway… but really," Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Kagome, "I wanted to see how you would react since your death seemed inevitable, Ka-go-me."

Kagome was furious. She seemed to think he was deliberately trying to get her mad by baiting her, but she pushed herself not to aggressively retaliate since that would be giving him what he wanted. Besides, maybe this was the way he acted normally, but she didn't fear him; ever since the first time she mouthed off at him and he didn't do anything but argue back.

"The buzzard was following you… because of the kit." He emphasized.

Kagome felt Shippo tense up in her arms as he stared at Inuyasha. "What? Why me?" He asked in a small voice.

That's when Kagome relaxed enough to speak. "Does it have something to do with…" She hesitated for a moment as she held onto Shippo a little tighter, "His family?"

She felt Shippo tense up even more and regretted that she had to remind him of his dead parent, and felt even worse when she felt a few drops of his tears fall on her arm.

"The skinned dead body?" Inuyasha questioned. Kagome winced when he used that wording. _'Great, Inuyasha, what a way to bring up a bad mental image…couldn't you be a little more tactful saying it?' _She thought grimly.

"Yeah, it has something to do with that. Whoever sent the buzzard wanted to make sure there where no survivors and nothing left."

Kagome frowned. "But I don't understand. Why do they want to kill Shippo?"

"I don't know!! What I do know that it's his problem now and that you are safer leaving him alone than being with him. Just being around him is going to put you in danger since whoever the jerk that sent the buzzard won't stop until he is dead… and anyone around him." Inuyasha stated, trying to make a point.

Shippo looked startled. "Kagome, I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I think … I really should go..." Shippo started to detangle himself from Kagome's arms but she held on tight.

"Listen Shippo, I don't care about that. I've been in danger since I got here, and I'm not about to abandon you. I won't really stop you from leaving if you want to go, but I told you that you can stay with me, and there is no reason for that to change! I'll watch out for you and me!" Kagome exclaimed. While it was true that most of the real danger that she had been in was since she had Shippo in her presence, she felt even more determined to try to protect him from whoever was out there. There was no way that she wanted the same fate of his parent to be his own.

Blinking, Shippo stopped himself from moving away from her after her announcement. Before any one of them could speak, laughter caught their attention. Inuyasha was clutching his stomach, doubled over in laughter, not even attempting to hold any of it in.

"You? What are you going to do? Protect him? Ha, that's something new! It's not everyday you meet a mortal, spirit walker or not, claiming she can protect a full blooded animal spirit. Hah!! A human protecting an animal spirit! What a crock of shit! The brat would more than likely protect you, not the other way around! He isn't your problem to take care of!"

Kagome looked flustered, but she didn't want Inuyasha to have one up on her. An idea popped in her head and she allowed herself to smirk while glaring at him.

"Actually, Inuyasha, I got you on that one. He is your problem, in your own words. Remember how you said that I was your 'territory' and responsibility since you saved me? Well now, since I really wasn't the intended target, you in actuality really saved Shippo, therefore he is your responsibility to protect as well. AND since I vowed to care for him as well, I will stay with him while you make sure nothing happens."

With that, she crossed her arms and glared smugly at him as his laughter died down and he started at her in shock.

"And you can close your trap, Inuyasha; otherwise you are going start to swallowing flies."

That statement snapped Inuyasha out of his stupor. Shutting his open mouth, he jumped to a tree branch a distance away and glared at both the kit and girl, growling under his breath. He was trying to find a loophole in her statement, since what she technically said was right. He did want to save her, and not the fox since all it would bring is trouble. Saving her would mean she would be more inclined to do the task he would want her to do. At first he was excited when he realized she was a spirit walker, since it was hard enough to find a spirit walker in the first place, let alone one that didn't seem to be too much afraid of him or despise him. That excitement caused him to claim responsibility for her, thinking that he was so smart to do so, to make her feel like she owed him something. He was going to use that debt to get what he needed. Although, he did regret that he actually needed something from her and it was something that he couldn't do it on his own. Now it looked like he would have to deal with the trouble the brat would bring in order to get his task done.

"Well, Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned, breaking his train of thought.

Snorting, he jumped from the branch and slowly walked over to both of them. Stopping in front of them he knelt down and looked straight at Kagome. _'Hmph, might as well do something that makes me feel better.'_ He thought.

CLONK

"Owwwwww!!! Wahhhh!! Kagome, he hit me!!!"

"Inuyasha!! Why did you hit Shippo! INUYASHA!! Don't walk away while I'm talking to you!!"

Smiling smugly, he casually walked to the edge of the pond, sitting down cross-legged facing the water with his back turned to both Kagome and Shippo. '_Yeah,_' he thought, '_that is pretty good stress relief after all.'_

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out; upset at the fact that now he was now ignoring her. '_That statement I made must have hit a nerve, so I must have been right!_' she thought to herself.

"Shut up, woman!" He responded. "I'll protect you and the brat from outside dangers, but don't forget to protect him from me! I make sure that nothing else will kill him, but that means that responsibility is my own!"

Kagome's face softened.

"But you aren't going to kill him, huh?" She asked calmly, already knowing the answer.

"Keh"

_'Inuyasha didn't answer that but I have a feeling he probably is thinking about it'_ Kagome thought sourly.

Slightly loosening the hold that she had on Shippo, she thought about the conversation that they had. It was then that something finally hit her, something that should have been so obvious, that she should have caught before but didn't.

"We aren't speaking English!" She exclaimed.

"En-glish?" Both Shippo and Inuyasha asked. Inuyasha turned to her and eyed her suspiciously.

"Yeah, I mean, I complete understand what I am saying but… How is this possible? I'm even… I'm even thinking in this language like it's nothing, but this language is definitely not English. What language is this?" Kagome muttered the last part to herself, but Inuyasha still heard her.

"What language? It's our language... What other is there?" Curious to what she was talking about, he walked back over to Kagome and Shippo, forgetting their prior argument.

"Well, English is the language I grew up with. Well, English and Japanese, since I was born in Japan." Ignoring the strange looks she was getting, she attempted to force herself to speak English.

Concentrating on her attempts, she was able to say a word or two, but quickly stumbled and started speaking in the foreign language again.

Sighing after the attempts she made, Kagome felt like she had to give up. "It's no use... I can't seem to say much and it takes way too much concentration to say what I did. It's like... My own native language is foreign to me..."

"Hey woman..."

"Kagome." She interjected.

Inuyasha still persisted. "**Woman.**" He continued, emphasizing it this time.

Sighing yet again, she decided to give in this time. There was too much going on for her to argue. "Yeah, **Man**?" she responded jokingly.

Inuyasha bristled to her response "Keh! I'm not a man, but a spirit..."

"Half a spirit." Interrupted Shippo.

BAM

"Inuyasha!! That hurt! Stop hitting me!!" Shippo cried, holding his head. He couldn't believe he actually hit him again in Kagome's arms. Maybe he wasn't as safe in her arms as he thought.

"Then shut up!! Don't butt in, runt! I'm not exactly talking to you, but to Kagome!!"

"Inuyasha! Stop hitting Shippo!! Besides, thank you for finally saying my name normally! I was about to think you are so thickheaded that it would never stick!"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. Annoyed, he chose to ignore the comment and focus on his question. "Kagome...Where are you from? Why are you so far away from any of the human villages?

Pausing, Kagome hesitated to answer his question. Why should he get answers when she has so many questions of her own? In her own mind, she tried not to think to hard of Shippo turning from a fox to an almost human looking boy. She tried so very much to grasp the concept that she no longer is speaking her own language. And she tried so very hard to ignore the statements of spirits, since there were so many strange things she has encountered in the past day, while at home they might be abnormal, ghosts and spirits might very well be the norm here. When she looked back at Inuyasha, she saw him getting slightly irritated from waiting so long for an answer.

"I can't answer that question." She responded quietly.

"Oh, and why not? Did you run away? Did you get kicked out of your village? I wouldn't be surprised with such an unruly wench like yours-"

"Shut it, Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, standing up as her temper starting to flare, "I can't answer your question because I don't even know where here even is! I don't even know how I got here! All I remember is leaving my home in the morning for a walk, and suddenly I wake up in the middle of the desert!!"

Throwing her one arm in the air with the other still holding onto Shippo, she continued her tirade, unable to stop saying everything that was bothering her. Inuyasha took a few steps back to get out of arms length from her, just in case.

"First thing I saw was a monster dog. Is that normal? Nooooo, not where I come from!" Kagome started to pace back and forth, but while speaking, she had enough sense not to mention the skinned fox body, which had terrified her as well, but didn't want to remind Shippo of the horror. "I find this oasis, which was great since I probably would have died from dehydration from walking around in the desert for so long without water. Then a stupid giant buzzard attacks me and Shippo, which again, GIANT BUZZARDS do NOT exist where I come from! And then you come in, the so called angry hero, pissed off for having to save me, Shippo looks human now, you seem to talk about spirits like they are an everyday occurrence, but NOT where I come from! I'm speaking in another language; you seem to think I am a 'Spirit Walker'; whatever the hell that means!" Stopping, Kagome took a deep breath, "And yes, I am missing a whole bunch of things, but I think we covered those in our prior arguments anyway!"

Inuyasha looked at Kagome strangely. Now that she was done raving like a lunatic, he finally chose to speak. "So you really don't know where to go from here, huh?"

"No shit, Sherlock!"

"Sherlock?"

"Just… never mind… I just want to go home…" Kagome sat down on the ground, weary of the whole day's events. The yelling and screaming seemed to take out more from her than she thought it would.

Frowning, Inuyasha weighed his options. She really didn't seem like she was from any of the villages nearby, which would be a problem for her, but a boon for him since it would mean she can't leave him right away. Sure, she was annoying and talked out of place, but she seemed like the only spirit walker that might actually help him, since she didn't try to purify him right away. But, on the other hand, it might be the fact that she seemed to lack any powers to do so, which in the end won't benefit him after all. Groaning inwardly, Inuyasha walked over to her and extending his hand. Kagome looked up warily to the hand in front of her.

"Kagome… I'll help you find your home… Come on, get up from the ground. You won't get anywhere if you sit on your ass all day." Inuyasha said calmly. He supposed that the first step was to somehow get this girl to trust him. If so, he felt no doubt in his mind that she would help him if he promised to help her, with how much devotion she was showing the fox.

Kagome's eyes widened. '_Just what is he planning to do?_' She thought to herself. Cautiously, she put her hand in his and stood up with his assistance. She absently noted how warm this hand was compared to hers and still felt the tingles going up her arm after he touched her. Forcing herself not blush from the contact, she forced herself to think about the task at hand.

"So how am I going to get home? How are you going to help me?" Kagome asked

"Well, we can go to one of the human villages close to here. Its one of the few villages where spirits are… positively respected…" Kagome almost missed the slight flinch he made when he finished the statement.

"Positively respected? What is that supposed to mean?"

Inuyasha sighed… Before he was able to respond, Shippo interjected "It means that Spirits are actually worshipped and respected, instead of just feared. Other human villages respect us, but they… fear us more and they think that they can attempt to 'help' us by sending us back to the spirit world by trying to kill us. Positively respected means the half breed is even accepted." He finished.

"Shut up, brat!" Inuyasha yelled, flustered at Shippo's statement

BAM "Owww!! Kagome!!" Shippo cried and he curled up closer into Kagome's arms.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed angrily. "What was that for?!"

"It means that he doesn't know when to shut up! He spoke out of place!"

Shippo turned to look at Inuyasha, tears in his eyes still, but angrily mocking him by sticking out his tongue. He did feel a little safer in Kagome's arms, despite the number of times Inuyasha lashed out. He still felt little nervous when Inuyasha glared evilly at him. It would probably be safer if he stayed in Kagome's arms a little longer for today since the punishment might be worse if he left them.

"Inuyasha…" Hesitating, Kagome thought back on Shippo's words. "Shippo… said 'half breed' twice… what does that mean?"

Inuyasha sighed again. _'I'm sighing way too much. Too many things seem to be getting to me today…'_ he thought grimly. "It means that… my father was a spirit, and my mother… was human…" He mumbled.

Kagome almost didn't hear what he said, but her eyes widened at that statement. _'He looks so unsure of himself, almost embarrassed about it.' _She wondered. _'I wonder why he seems to hate that fact.'_ Kagome stepped up to Inuyasha and tentatively put her hand in his. She felt the tingle going up her arm again and the warmth of his hand. She gave an encouraging squeeze and a smile and told him what was on her mind.

"That's not a bad thing, right? You seem have the best of both worlds then." She stated calmly.

Inuyasha stared at her in shock. _'She's not frightened or revolted?'_ Inuyasha smelt the air around her quietly _'She doesn't smell like she is lying… she is actually sincere? She doesn't care that I am a half blood?' _He was curious and confused why she responded the way she did. Unconsciously he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze back.

Kagome smiled wider when she felt him respond. _'Maybe he really just needed some encouragement, even though he can be a jerk Maybe there is more to him than meets the eye._' Kagome thought to herself.

"So, Inuyasha, side topics aside, let's head to this village you mentioned. Maybe they would be able to help me out."

"Yeah…" Inuyasha muttered, still thinking about her statement.

Kagome noticed that he didn't seem to be thinking clearly. Lightly dragging him in one direction with the hand she was holding, he broke out of his stupor and frowned.

"Not that way, stupid." He said, but without any malice in his tone of voice. Letting go of her hand gently, he turned west, he started walking slowly, giving her a chance to catch up "It's this way, but you better watch out and keep up with me. I'm not going to be saving your ass every time you get in trouble." He muttered, still not making direct eye contact with her.

Grinning, Kagome followed. Maybe they didn't start on the right foot, but it looked as though they were going to be stuck with each other for a while. It would be to her benefit to at least try not to lose her temper around him so often. But if he called her stupid one more time…

* * *

A/N : Yay! It looks like we are actually getting somewhere! Granted, I am not used to doing so much dialogue, so forgive me if it seems choppy. I tried to fix it up the best I can. Hopefully I'll work on my writing skills over time and the following chapters would be of better quality. My little muse is actually working with me and I think I am getting the hang of listening to her. Alright everyone, until next time!! ;) 


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